THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2007
Westinghouse’s “Space-Mates” were, as far as we know, the first stacking home laundry units. For 1958 the company also offered the “Royal Twins,” “Imperial Twins” and, for the ultimate in laundry-room luxe, “Custom Imperial Twins.”
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The Caffeinated Coffee Table
Bob Peak’s family illustrates a decorative fad that manifested itself on the walls, floors and furniture of millions of late-’50s homes in America — the tile mosaic.
SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2007
Here’s a wonderful chance for every boy to get into flying. Don’t miss it. Read every word of this advertisement — and then get ready for some real flying thrills. You want to fly, of course. Every red-blooded boy does. Now you can! Just send us 25c and get our easy plans for making a genuine Glide-O-Bike. Anyone can build it in a jiffy. You don’t need a bike of your own. If you know a fellow who has a bike, send your 25c right now and when you get them you can go “partners” and both get a line on some real fancy flying. Look at the picture above. Note how the Glide-O-Bike’s front wheel is taking off the ground. She goes gliding along, Fellows, and that’s not all. You can bank, ground-loop, stall and side-slip. Absolutely nothing like this for fun and thrills. You can make money with a Glide-O-Bike, too. Other fellows will be glad to pay you 10c to 25c a ride. Operate your own airport . . .
We imagine you could also decapitate any of your little friends who happen to be standing too close to the flight path. We wonder if the Glide-O-Bike ever took off, so to speak. Anyone remember these? Read the whole wacky ad here.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2007
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A Potent New Kind of Pontiac for 1962 — Grand
Prix!
The personally styled car with the power personality! This new member of the Pontiac line has grille and rear deck styling all its own. And it’s the lowest Pontiac of all — just four and a half feet from road to roofline. This custom- equipped, high-voltage coupe called the Grand Prix comes with all this: A new 303 h.p. Trophy V-8 with 4-barrel carburetor and dual exhausts; center control console; tachometer; bucket seats . . . Aluminum wheels, four-speed Synchromesh and Hydra-Matic are extra-cost options. If you’d like to try a kind of driving that’s like nothing else . . . get your hands on this one fast!
The granddaddy of what would become the most popular Pontiac ever, the Grand Prix, debuted as a full-size 1962 model based on the Catalina, with Thunderbird-like accoutrements. After a restyle for 1963 sales more than doubled to 72,000 cars.
MONDAY, MARCH 19, 2007
There’s only one Wide-Track wagon. Pontiac makes it. The name is Safari — that’s Pontiac’s word for wagons. Stylish and spacious with the hustle and handling that going people go for. From its cargo-cradling Wide-Track stance to its Trophy V-8-triggered response, Safari is something special. The Bonneville Custom Safari shown here seats six and steals the scene wherever it goes . . .
The latest dispatch from Ocean Park, where you can leave your car right next to the pool, on the golf course, tarmac, etc., and nobody so much as bats a well-tanned eyelash. Illustration by the peerless Art Fitzpatrick and Van Kaufman.
SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 2007
Catalina takes you Wide-Tracking with unmistakable Pontiac form. Fresh new styling with all the quality and quietness you’ve missed in lesser cars. The heartbeat of this new breed of “Cat” is true Trophy V-8. Rated from 215 to 348. Pick the level of liveliness you like. And if luxury is to your liking you can order the special Ventura Custom Interior. Why not start leaving Wide-Tracks wherever you go? It couldn’t be easier than in a Catalina!
Here we have the Missus on a shopping excursion in that mythical burg where the only car downtown belongs to you. Our nod to St. Patrick’s Day is the green hatbox.
Luxury comes alive in the ’62 Bonneville, famous for its own brand of fashion and fire! The long, luxurious lines of a real road car. Storm-born action from the 4-barrel Trophy V-8 and its 303 horses. Lavish touches like a walnut panel extending the length of the instrument panel. Upholstery materials of top-quality leather, Jeweltone Morrokide, fine woven fabrics. Everything about this top-drawer Pontiac is designed to make elegance electrifying . . .
In 1961 you could get away with wearing marabou to a barbecue, with the getaway car parked right next to the fire.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 2007
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All the Best of All the New Ideas
In steel and glass and in spirit, Pontiac ’59 lifts driving beyond mere transportation and gives it new life and zest. You’ll feel real enjoyment in even routine day-to-day driving . . . a relaxing break in a busy day. And if leisure is an important part of your life — and action an important part of your leisure — Pontiac is bred as no other car to help you get more out of living . . .
1959 was the first year for the “Wide-Track” Pontiac, which saw the wheels moved five inches farther apart after division general manager “Bunkie” Knudsen said the original design looked like a linebacker wearing ballet slippers.
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’59 x 8
A nice graphic from the summer of 1958 for the ’59 Pontiac catalog. We especially like the illustration of the sofa with the pole lamp.
FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2007
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WWJB?
If you happen to be in Austin at the SXSW Film Festival on Sunday, check out the premiere of the new Morgan Spurlock documentary What Would Jesus Buy?, directed by the über-talented Rob VanAlkemade. The title backgrounds are by Plan59. We’d like to thank our mother, our agent . . .
THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2007
Graceful . . . subtle of line and design, yet bursting with boundless energy and the yen to go. Never has any automobile captured so beautifully America’s great desire for a finer family car . . . one endowed with distinctive poise and yet alive with appearance and performance vitality. Certainly, the Star Chief Four-door Sedan is a shining example of the Pontiac idea: a truly fine car priced in a range all America can enjoy . . .
The copywriters piled on the adjectives and the stylists piled on the chrome, the object of their exertions being the slab-sided 1955-56 Pontiac. Automotive writer Tom McCahill said the car looked “like it was born on its nose.”
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2007
When is a station wagon not a station wagon? Answer . . . when it’s a ’56 Pontiac 870! Sure, this versatile new automobile will carry almost any kind of load you wish from furniture to power lawn mowers and do it with the greatest of ease. But Pontiac has done something wonderful and exciting with this new car to give it station wagon convenience with sedan appearance and grace. Make the wise move to the ’56 870 Station Wagon! You might like the Nimbus Grey-Bolero Red combination shown . . .
The other day after spying an ancient Pontiac 870 wagon on TV wheezing along Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución, we dug out our tattered copy of the 1956 sales catalog and managed to reconstruct this image. Plain-Jane sister of the Safari two-door hauler that would eventually lend its name to the regular line of Pontiac wagons, the 870 for 1956 had rear fenders borrowed from the 1955 Chevrolet, with funny-looking taillights tacked on. Best part of this image, and the entire catalog, is the fabulous headline font.
SUNDAY, MARCH 4, 2007
If you find sheer excitement in driving the finest — Bonneville is your kind of car! The industry’s hottest team of engineers and stylists, free to put dreams into reality, have created a car so distinctive it meets the fondest wishes of the man who really knows — and loves — cars. Its special brand of action springs from Pontiac's most advanced V-8. For those who love real leather, there are 3 gorgeous interior trims for the Bonneville Convertible Coupe. Interior illustrated features optional bucket seats in Jeweltone Maroon and Ivory, accented with Mahogany Morrokide . . .
For 1959 Pontiac went from stodgy to statuesque, with a longer-lower-wider “Wide Track” offering that started the brand’s split-grille styling theme. The car proved so popular with the public that it moved up to fourth place in sales, beating Buick and Oldsmobile for the first time.
FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2007
We are in production mode today and just made, as a test, a spectacularly beautiful print of the 1936 street scene below on a new (to us) kind of paper, Arches French archival 28 mil (extra-thick) 22 x 30 inch sheet stock with a smooth finish. It is so pretty that we are switching to market- research mode — if you want it, it’s yours for the bargain-basement price of 65 bucks, shipping included. But there’s only one (well, actually five, because that's how many sheets of the paper we have). When it goes, the link disappears. (And if there are no takers, the link disappears!)
The link is gone, the print having been claimed by astute art connoisseur, nonpareil book illustrator and Plan59 patron saint Joan Auclair. As well as four other people: Jeff Martin in Chicago . . . Lauri in Austin . . . Tom Blackmon in Las Vegas (also an astute art connoisseur, and a Plan59 friend from way back) . . . and Karl Quebedeaux in Louisiana. We have another shipment of this paper on the way, and have added it to the list of available prints here, highlighted in yellow.
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